The load shedding will start again in Quebec. Hospitals across the province will be called upon to choose the interventions they can postpone in order to prepare for an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the coming weeks.
According to information obtained by Press, alert level 3 of the load shedding plan, out of a maximum of 4, has now been reached.
Elective surgeries should be reduced to a minimum, while virtual outpatient care should be increased. 40% to 80% of hospital beds and intensive care beds will be for patients with COVID-19.
Each establishment must submit its load shedding plan to the Ministry of Health and Social Services for approval.
Minister Christian Dubé warned Tuesday that load shedding was likely to be necessary in the health network. To date, more than half of the capacity of beds reserved for COVID-19 in the Quebec network is occupied.
“We have not yet reached the capacity of the COVID-19 beds, but the load shedding plans are being prepared to avoid having to prioritize patients. The situation is changing very quickly, ”said Dr Joseph Dahine, intensivist at the Cité-de-la-Santé hospital, in Laval.
According to projections made by the National Institute of Excellence in Health and Social Services and the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec (INSPQ), the number of cases and the number of hospitalizations should continue to increase significantly in Canada. over the next few weeks.
“Even assuming a severity of Omicron three times lower than that of Delta, hospitalizations could reach or exceed the peaks of hospitalizations of January 2020”, indicated the INSPQ in its most recent report.
Action required
According to alert level 3, Quebec hospitals must prepare for the offloading of activities in the event that the capacity of the COVID-19 beds is exceeded. Establishments whose situation will not be under control will have to have weekly follow-ups with the Ministry.
“These directives have been put in place in the past. So, you just have to reactivate them according to the state of the network ”, indicates the Dr Dahine.
He maintains that with the evolution of the epidemiological situation, the load shedding was essential. “It is a necessary measure because we know that COVID-19 patients who present to the hospital are in respiratory distress. They need oxygen. If they are not treated, they die immediately, ”he says.
However, he believes that this new load shedding will be a blow to the health system. “We are walking a tightrope. The teams are exhausted and there hasn’t been so much reinforcement since the first wave. The same people are being asked to make personal sacrifices and tap into their last energies to be able to continue presenting and providing care. ”
He is worried about the long-term health network. “Offloading is one way to treat COVID patients, but it comes at the cost of all the other diseases that continue to progress. We just postpone the problem, ”he concludes.